TexasCHLforum.com

I have had a very nice EOTech mounted on my AR carbine for a while now and it has been a great optic. But as I have aged, my eyes have deteriorated, and so I bought a 3X EOTech magnifier on a flip to side ARMS mount. Anyway, the magnifier is a compromise, and it adds weight to the all up package. Additionally 3X just isn't enough.

So, being budget conscious, I did the following:

• removed the Vortex Strikefire from my wife's carbine and mounted it on my MP15-22.
• removed the EOTech from my carbine and mounted it on my wife's carbine.
• bought the new Burris 536 5X prismatic sight for my carbine.

A week or so ago, I bought a used Burris Fastfire II from Carry-a-Kimber, and I mounted it on the accessory rail that is on top of the 532.

Here's some pics. Taken with my cellphone, sorry about the quality:






Red reticle


Green reticle


The basic reticle is black and still works whether or not the batteries are charged. With 62 grain bullets, the reticle is registered in 100 yard increments out to 600 yards.





Here is the Burris web page for this product: http://burrisoptics.com/ar536.html. I paid $399 for it at Cabela's. I may move the Fastfire to one of the side rails on the scope, or get an angled offset mount for the upper receiver. Don't know yet, and I've still got to get everything zeroed. But the glass is nice and clear, and I am looking forward to shooting with it.

Like

very interested to hear your range report

gigag04 wrote:Like

Thanks. I actually wondered if you would have an opinion and what it would be, since I know that a lot of the other optics you like tend to be quite a bit more expensive than this one.

I forgot to mention that the red and green reticles also have 5 brightness settings, and there is a sunshade included, as well as the knurled knob which allows the optic to be mounted to a carry handle.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

gigag04 wrote:Like

Thanks. I actually wondered if you would have an opinion and what it would be, since I know that a lot of the other optics you like tend to be quite a bit more expensive than this one.

I forgot to mention that the red and green reticles also have 5 brightness settings, and there is a sunshade included, as well as the knurled knob which allows the optic to be mounted to a carry handle.

I actually I was attracted by the value you have built into your rifle, for you. Your kit selections are always thought out and researched. That's half the battle with most folks.

Man, I gotta get me one of those FastFires...



Lookin' good TAM!!

Very nice. I have actually considered getting one of the Leupold HAMR sight setups...especially since I found out about their LEO/.mil pricing discounts and got ahold of the price sheet. The discount is significant.

Very nice... I have the Burris 332 and have had "Zero" issues with it... I'm curious to hear how the 532 works out.

Oh, and nice couch it looks waaaay comfy.

Edited to fix spelling...ha ha ha

Other optics I looked at when I was at Cabela's yesterday:

• Burris 1-4x24 with "firedot" reticle, mounted in a P.E.P.R. mount, with a Fastfire already mounted for $499 (http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting ... t104623380)
  
  I almost bought this one, and the reason I didn't was that I already had the Fastfire so there wasn't any point in spending the additional $100, plus the 532 was 5X instead of 4X.
• Leupold VX-R 1-4x24, $579.99. This was a pretty nice scope with good glass and a nice reticle, but it was essentially the same as the Burris 1-4x24, but cost more and didn't include the mount or the Fastfire (or its equivalent).
• Leupold VX-R "Zombie" 1-4x24, $599.99. This was junk. The adjustments on the knobs were very crudely painted on, so was the zombie logo. Internally it differed from the regular VX-R by having a green dot instead of a red one. I would not recommend this scope.

I have the Millet DMS and love it for the price. I've used it in about 6 3gun matches and have beat the heck out of it and it's held zero. I have the Burris mount. Can't beat it for less than $300

Jesse on Enos forums had one for sale for $175 and I had to fight hard not to buy it for another build. I'm gonna hold off for a 1x6

Carry-a-Kimber wrote:Man, I gotta get me one of those FastFires...



Lookin' good TAM!!

Well, I used to know where you could get one.....

Forgot to mention also that the Fullfield TAC30 Tactical Scope 1-4X-24mm mentioned above has the same reticle as the 536, but in red/black only, without the green option.

UPDATE:

So I've had it to the range not too long ago, and it was simple to get the sight zeroed. I zeroed for 50 yards instead of the 100 that the reticle is calibrated for because A) I prefer a 50 yard zero for an AR15, and B) because I was shooting FMJ and was limited to the 50 yard range at Elm Fork.

The reticle was easy to use and see. I tried it with both the red and green illumination and with the illumination switched off. On a bright sunny day with no cloud cover, the illuminated colors had to be turned up to the 3rd of 5 settings in order to be "fully on." The black reticle looked just fine, and truthfully, that is the one I would use most of the time unless the light were really low.

That said, I did find one thing that is moderately disturbing...... I was reading this month's issue (September 2012) of GunTests magazine, and they have a comparison between the Leupold VX-R, Hi-Lux CMR, and Millett DMS-1 patrol optics for AR15 carbines. All of these are 1-4X scopes with illuminated reticles, and one of the thing the article authors noted was that all three scopes betrayed a light signature down range when viewed from head on:

The three scopes showed a signature at night that was apparent downrange when viewed head on. A slight red glow could be seen from the Leupold’s and Millett’s objectives; we could see a green glow from the Hi-Lux.

http://www.gun-tests.com/issues/24_9/fe ... 981-1.html (you probably have to be logged in to read it....)

So, I decided to see if that might be an issue for MY scope, since it has an illuminated reticle, and took a couple of pictures. The pictures below were taken looking into the front end of scope. The rifle was unloaded, verified by visual and finger confirmation, locked open, with no magazine in place.

In the first picture, you can make out the black circle of the unlit reticle more or less in the center. In the second picture, you can see the red illuminated reticle. I didn't take a picture of the green one, but it is just as bright as the red one:





The object mounted on top of the scope is the Burris Fastfire, and in any CQB situation, that is what I would be using simply because the 5X power of this scope makes it difficult to use in that scenario. Obviously, in any hunting situation at night (hog hunting, predators, whatever), I would not let the reticle illumination go to waste. But if I engaged in some kind shoot-out over distance at night, I might hesitate to use the illuminated reticle unless I had very good reason to believe that my enemy could not see it.

I don't know if I would have made any different choice of an optic for this AR since it appears that any of the other choices I might have looked at have the same fault. But, it is worth noting for anyone that is looking at a magnifying optic with an illuminated reticle that does not function as a holographic sight like an EOTech that this is a consideration to be taken under advisement when making your choice.

TAM,
Any issues with accuracay on the FastFire?

I ask because I have a very similar set up with a FastFire on top of my scope.

Being that high above the barrel, I am worried that the FastFire would be considerably off say at 5 yards and then 35 yards.

I havent had a chance to shoot this set up yet.

BTW, NICE set up!!

AB